Barista Slouch Hat

September 7, 2017

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Thank you to Lion Brand Yarn for providing the yarn for this sample.

It’s official… the Fall ’17/Winter ’18 season has begun and I am sooooooooo excited! Granted I’m a little behind on life being that I spent my summer cuddling an adorable little baby boy instead of prepping my upcoming collection, but whatev. I’m ready to dive in now, and let’s all hope and pray that Henry will start taking longer naps so I can get some things done.

I’m debuting the season with a hat pattern that I just love. This season I’m experimenting with different shapes of slouch, and this pattern has a rounder, more “droopy” look to it than my patterns from previous seasons. It’s worked from the top-down but uses the faux-cinched method I tend to favor, but amped up a bit. We’re cramming so many stitches into those first few rounds that you might be thinking “yeah right, Rebecca” as you’re getting started, but trust me, just get through those first rounds and it will get easier and the finished look will be so worth it.

For this pattern I used Lion Brand Yarn’s Vanna’s Style, a #3 weight (not to be confused with Vanna’s Choice, which is a #4 aran). It has beautiful stitch definition and drape which is perfect for this hat.

My model is rocking this hat with her natural waves, but it would also look gorgeous over cascading curls or even a loose braid.

Prefer a PDF?

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Special Stitch – Mini Bean Stitch (MBS): Insert hook into stitch, yarn over, pull through (2 loops on hook), yarn over, insert hook into same stitch, yarn over, pull through (4 loops on hook), yarn over, pull through all 4 loops, chain 1 to close stitch. (Please note that this CH1 does count as a stitch in the final stitch counts of each round; so each MBS you complete will count for 2 stitches.)

Notes:(1) This pattern is written in American Standard Terms.
(2) Pattern is worked in a continuous, seamless round until the band. Use a stitch marker to mark the beginning of rounds and do not join or turn unless instructed to do so.
(3) Any CH1s at the beginning of rounds do not count as stitches and are not included in the stitch count.
(4) Because of the “chain 1 to close stitch” at the end of the instructions for the MBS, each MBS will count as 2 stitches in the final stitch counts for each round – one for the bean, and one for the CH1.)

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THE PATTERN

To begin: Make a magic circle; CH1 (does not count as a stitch).

Round 1: 16 HDC in MC. (16)

Round 2: 2 HDC in each ST around. (32)

Round 3: 2 HDC in each ST around. (64)

Round 4: MBS in each ST around. (128)

Rounds 5-32: (MBS in next ST, SK next ST) around. (128)

Round 33: (MBS in next ST, SK next ST) around. Join with a SL ST to 1st ST of round. (128)

Round 34: CH1. SC2TOG, SC in each of the next 2 STS. (SC2TOG in next ST, SC in each of the next 2 STS) around. Join with a SL ST to the top of the first ST. (96)

Round 35-36: CH1. SC in each ST around. Join with a SL ST to the top of the first ST. (96)

Next we’re going to make the band of the hat, and we will be working in vertical rows, attaching it to the final round of the hat (Round 36) with SL STS as we go. If you need a little extra help, click here for a video tutorial on how to add ribbing at the end of a project.

CH9.

Row 1: SC in 2nd chain from hook and in each of the remaining 7 chains. SL ST into the first SC from Round 36, the stitch on which your CH9 was built. SL ST into the next SC from Round 36. (8, plus the two slip stitches along Round 36)

The section we just created, built on the CH9, will hereafter be referred to as the “ribbing.”

Row 2: CH1, turn. Skipping over the 2 SL STS you put in Round 36, SC in BLO of each of the first 7 STS of the ribbing. SC in both loops of the last ST. (8)

Row 3: CH1, turn. SC in 1st ST. SC in BLO of each of the remaining 7 STS of the ribbing. SL ST in each of the next 2 STS of Round 36. (8, plus the 2 SL STS along Round 36)

Row 4: CH1, turn. Skipping over the 2 SL STS you put in Round 36, SC in BLO of each of the first 7 STS of the ribbing. SC in both loops of the last ST. (8)

Rows 5-96: Repeat Rows 3-4 all the way along Round 36.

Fasten off and use your tail to sew together the first and last rows of the ribbing, then weave in your ends.

Unfortunately I can’t give instructions for sizes not offered in the pattern. With this particular hat because it gets larger and then smaller, it’s a little more complicated, but normally my advice would be to figure out how wide you want the brim to be and then measure how many ribbing rows you would need to subtract in order to get that; however many are remaining are the number of stitches you want to be in your final round. So you’d want the initial increases to go a little over that number, so that you can decrease them at the end. You’d also want to make fewer rounds to account for a smaller head.

Does it matter if I work the mbs into the tops of the mbs in previous rounds or into the ch1 space? I must have done my mbs pretty tight because I am having a hard time working into them. I want it to look right, though! Will it be ok if I work into the ch1 and skip the mbs? Hope that makes sense. Thanks!

Hi Laura, the CH1 part of the bean stitch is actually the one that ends up super tight (it sits right on top of the bean). It’s the set of loops created by the actual bean that are easier to get into, and luckily, those are the ones you are supposed to go into 🙂

That’s awesome! Unfortunately I don’t offer much support for recreating patterns in sizes that I don’t already offer (only because I get so many requests that I wouldn’t ever have time for anything else, lol), but my best advice is to find one of those crochet hat size charts on Pinterest and figure out what the measurements should be. So let’s say (I’m making this up) that a 7 year old’s hat should be 4″ LESS wide than an adult’s, you would want to measure your hat at the bottom and find out how many ribs are in 4″. Let’s say it’s… 20. So, you’d want to go back to the final decrease round and subtract 20 stitches from that. You’d have to figure out the best way to get to that number. Then, just crochet around until it’s about 1.5″ shorter than it’s supposed to be for a 7 year old, then finish up with the ribbing. I hope that wasn’t way too confusing 🙂

I am concerned about my gauge. Should the 3 rounds of the band fit the head prior to the ribbing? Mine is a little loose and I am not sure if the ribbing tightens it up to fit. I don’t want to do all of the ribbing if I need to adjust the band first. Thank you!

Thank you! I am going to rework my band in a hook size smaller! My hat without the ribbing laid flat is 12 inches. I think a size down would be a better fit. Thank you for your quick response and all of your help! Thank you especially for this beautiful pattern! I have already made the spring bean cowl and this slouch is going to make a set for a gift for my cousin!